NASA finally set to launch satellite tonight to study mysterious space weather after technical issues with the rocket kept it grounded for two years
- The new satellite will go into orbit 360 miles above the Earth’s surface
- Scientists hope the project will give new insight into solar weather
- Space weather is produced when particles from the sun enter the atmosphere
- In the past, space weather has damaged Earth’s communication systems
NASA will launch a new satellite into the atmosphere today in the hopes of learning more about the mysterious phenomenon of space weather.
Named ICON, or Ionospheric Connection Explorer, the satellite is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 9:30PM EST on Thursday, October 10th.
The goal is to place a new satellite in orbit 360 miles above the Earth’s surface, to collect data on space weather events that occur as charged particles from the sun enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
NASA’s ICON satellite (pictured above) will collect data about space weather from the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Data about space weather can be valuable both for scientific research and because it can effect a number of satellites currently in orbit in the ionosphere.
Space weather events can disrupt GPS satellites, power grids, and communication systems, so learning more about them will help keep civilization up and running.
‘We are looking to be able to inform modelers and theorists about what needs to be measured to make better predictions for the ionosphere tomorrow,’ Thomas Immel, one of the project leads, told The Verge.
The ionoshphere is the outermost layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, and is important because its where radio waves used for communication and navigation on Earth travel.
The ICON satellite (pictured above) was originally planned for launch in 2017 but was delayed due to mechanical problems.
Radiation from the sun ionizes the particles in ionosphere creating a layer of electrons that can vary substantially during solar cycles—the 11 year-period it takes for the Sun’s north and south poles switch positions.
ICON had originally been planned for a 2017 launch but a series of mechanical failures led to a number of delays.
The launch will be carried out from another aircraft already inflight, a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar craft named Stargazer.
Last year, the ESA’s Met Office issued a warning that one particularly devastating form of space weather, a solar storm, is inevitable and could devastate Earth’s power grids and communication networks.
In 1859, a large solar storm, called The Carrington Event, caused streams of fire to come out of telegraph equipment and turned the sky blood red.